“A sales signal is simply something a customer does that tells you what they may be thinking.”
Most sales teams massively underuse them. Or don’t know how to capture them. Or don’t even know they exist.
The shallow story#
Here’s how it usually goes.
You get an inquiry, then exchange many emails and calls to figure out what the customer wants. About a week later you send out the first estimate or budget quote.
Then the customer opens it. Opens it again two days later. Shares it with his wife. Gets five more quotes from competitors. Then he’s busy for a few weeks, or on vacation. Then he comes back to the quote three weeks later.
All of that is useful information. But most sales teams see none of it.
So they do what we’ve all done before: one follow-up after the first quote, maybe a phone call.
“Hi John, just following up on the quote I sent…”
Not exactly a strong reason to call. And the process dies right there.
You spend hours processing inquiries, and 90% of that time is for nothing.
How things should be set up#
Have a system to track what happens after you send the quote. Then use those signals to decide priorities.
If Anna opened her quote four times last night, call Anna first thing in the morning.
If John suddenly opened a quote you sent in June, call John ASAP.
If someone changed the configuration three times and keeps checking the price, there’s probably a conversation going on there.
That’s really it. Track everything the customer does. Find the people showing buying signals. Call them while they’re thinking about you.
Your customers are already telling you exactly who is interested. Most sales teams just don’t have the right process and tools to listen.
It’s worth looking at how much of this you can already track today. Trust me, it changes everything once you use it in sales. You may be sitting on 5x more live quotes than you think.
Using signals and a simple post-quote process is how we’ve helped our customers win 5x more jobs, without adding headcount or overhead costs.
If you want to see tactically how we’re applying it, come to our next Masterclass on September 17.